Rustem Khamitov: “The notion “wild-life conservation” is a social category”

author: Olga Murtazina

The interdepartmental public security council of Bashkortostan has discussed the problems of ecology in Ufa today. “In any state ecological safety is regarded as a constituent of national security” – the chairman of the gathering, the President of Bashkortostan Rustem Khamitov explained the eye to the topic.

“In spite of high industrial potential and, consequently, its negative impact on environment the Republic still has rather wide territories with untouched, almost primeval nature. Specially protected territories occupy 7% and this is our heritage and national treasure. But on other territories situation is rather difficult. The Republic historically faces high concentration of ecologically polluted productions: oil mining, oil refining, chemistry and ore-mining industry”.

Rustem Khamitov paid special attention to two inactive objects at present time – JSC “UFAHIMPROM” and Semenovskaya gold-mining factory in Baimaksky region. The Republican authority still has to liquidate the ecological damage, accumulated by these enterprises in the Soviet period. The waste of “HIMPROM” contains dioxin, the territory of the Semenovskaya gold-mining factory is heavily saturated with mercury, heavy metals and cyanides.

“Liquidation of activity of these enterprises – bankrupts lies on the shoulders of the state and this burden is rather heavy. The designers estimated that two billion rubles was required for sanation of “UFAHIMPROM” territory and one billion – for Semenovskaya gold-mining factory. Where can we take such means from? It is clear that on this problem we can’t do without federal budget and we are actively working with the federal authority in this direction now” – Rustem Khamitov reported.

The President of Bashkortostan considers that unlike the bankrupts the active plants are quite solvent, so liquidation of ecological damage should be solved by their own forces.

“The active enterprises still continue polluting the environment and the Presidential Administration receives great number of complaints about gas contamination in Ufa, Sterlitamac and Salavat. Not long ago the Plenipotentiary of the President of Russia in Volga federal district Gregory Rapota has arrived in Salavat by air. The day was calm and from the helicopter he could see what the real situation in the atmosphere was. His impressions were very “bright”.

As Rustem Khamitov believes, the real way out of this situation is modernization of local productions and inculcation of modern technologies.

“Not devices but people feel the aggravation of the ecological situation first of all. The notion of health is determined by plenty of factors. According to information of the experts from the World Health Organization the health of population depends on economic prosperity by 50% and by 25% — upon the situation of the environment. 25% is very substantial constituent, so the notion “wild-life conservation” is the category not so much technical but social because people pin their hopes on ecology first” – the President of Bashkortostan mentioned.